After His Side’s First Defeat Of The League Campaign, Albert Roca Cited His Side’s Need To Improve And Come Back Stronger. Excerpts From His Interview With www.bengalurufc.com…
About the first defeat of the season…
Firstly, I would like to congratulate East Bengal FC on the victory. Both teams played a thoroughly entertaining game of football and there were countless chances on both ends. We did have command of the game in the first-half with a goal in open play, until East Bengal scored from a set piece.
The game did swing in favour of the home team in the latter stages of the second-half, where we failed to keep a check on their long balls. I’m proud of my team and perhaps we did not deserve to lose the match as we were far ahead of our opponents in terms of possession and control.
On his side’s defensive lapses in the second-half…
Our intention, as always, was to play an attacking game and this may have tired our defensive markings, which the home team took advantage of. We will take time to introspect and tweak the system to resolve this issue. But overall we managed the game very well.
East Bengal had good chances as they managed to take advantage of our slip-ups. But that’s football, where a loss of concentration in key moments can turn the match on its head and that’s what happened.
On the centre midfield failing to check counter attacks…
It’s true that there were holes at the centre of our midfield because we kept pushing our offensive play. We did play it too close and their forwards and wingers found space to make enough chances to run us out of the game. We will be heading back to the drawing board to adjust our attacking and defensive needs accordingly.
If Robin Singh was the game changer for the East Bengal FC…
I don’t think Robin was the game-changer. He is a good footballer and he took advantage of our defensive misgivings and that’s all there is to it.
Why things went awry in terms of performance in the second-half…
Our intention was to keep the ball in control; we don’t just shoot the ball into the opponent’s half. We’ve always emphasized on building up from the back, but today it didn’t work in our favour like it did in the first three games. We have to keep working on our tactics and that’s the only way ahead.
If the pitch conditions had an impact on the game…
I will not use the condition of the pitch as an excuse for my team’s defeat. Both the teams played on the same pitch and there is nothing else to say about it.
On Sunil Chhetri being played in midfield…
Sunil Chhetri is an exceptional player and is one of the most influential ones in Indian football at the moment. He is a versatile footballer and we employed the 4-2-3-1 formation for the East Bengal game, where he was deployed as a winger; a position he played throughout the AFC Cup campaign.
